The Seattle Seahawks put themselves in control of the number one seed in the NFC Conference with a thumping 35-6 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

Neither side was able to get on the scoreboard in the first quarter as both defenses dominated the game with some physical hitting at the line of scrimmage.

The home side managed to drive into a scoring position first as quarterback Ryan Lindley and Stepfan Taylor drove them into the red zone, but the Seahawks' defense held them to a field goal from the boot of Chandler Catanzaro.

Seattle responded as they took the lead when Russell Wilson faked the handoff to Marshawn Lynch and lofted a pass downfield for the run of his tight end Luke Willson, who made the grab and sprinted to the endzone for the touchdown.

The Seahawks extended their advantage as Wilson manoeuvred his side into position using his feet, escaping the pocket on more than one occasion. He then handed the ball to Lynch to power over the line for a six-yard score.

In the second half, Seattle spurned the chance to extend their lead when Steven Hauschka missed a field goal from 50 yards, but the Cardinals failed to take advantage of the good field position gained.

Hauschka missed for the third time in the match from 47 yards, and this time the home side were able to get back on the board with a field goal from Catanzaro.

However, Wilson put the game out of the Cardinals' reach when he notched his second touchdown of the game, lofting the ball over the home side's defense to Willson, who made the grab for a 20-yard score.

Lynch put his side in command of the game in style as he beat several tackles at the line of scrimmage and then downfield before managing to stay in bounds to find the endzone with a 79-yard run.

The Cardinals tried to get a score to keep their slim hopes alive but Lindley's deep pass was intercepted by Richard Sherman, who returned the ball back into the Arizona territory.

Wilson put the final nail in the coffin when he went in for the score himself, beating two tackles from Alex Okafor and Antonio Cromartie with a five-yard run to put his side in command of the NFC West.